Multiple character display device

ABSTRACT

A display device adapted to display one or more characters side by side in a row and including an insulating support plate, on the top surface of which are formed a plurality of groups of conductive members, each group being adapted to be energized to display a character. The device includes various configurations of anode electrodes, shielding electrodes, and interconnections of common characters in each group to provide manufacturing economies.

United stateS Patent 1 1 1111 3,862,476

Kuchinsky et al. 1 Jan. 28, 1975 1 MULTIPLE CHARACTER DISPLAY DEVICE [56] References Cited [76] Inventors: Saul Kuchinsky. Milcrip Rd.. R.D. UNITED STATES PATENTS 5, Some e, J. 876; ge 3.747.175 7/1973 Ucmura 01 111. 2 1725.17

WiirEWBITH T737 8 M65155?! Ranch" Bernard), Cillif- Primary li.\an1inerGranvillc Y. Custer. .lr.

92128; Thomas ChristPPher Assistant Evaminer-Jamcs W. Davie Clilrcmom P Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert A. Green; George Bernardsville, NJ. 07924; William Kensinger Michael Hennessey, 34 Fieldstone Dr., Somervillc, NJ. 08876 [57] ABSTRACT Filedl 1973 A display device adapted to display one or more char- [21] AppL NO; 419,180 acters side by side in a row and including an insulating support plate, on the top surface of which are formed Related Appllcauo" Data a plurality of groups of conductive members, each [60] Continuation of Ser. No. 325,294, Jan. 22, 1973, group being adapted to be energized to display a charb nd d, which is a division of Ser. No 183,485, acter. The device includes various configurations of Oct. 12, 1971, abandoned, wh1ch 1s a contmuatmn of anode electrodes, Shielding electrodes, and intercom I969 abandmed' nections of common characters in each group to provide manufacturing economies. [52] US. Cl. 29/25.l6, 313/520 511 1111.01 1101 j 9/18, H01 j 9/36 19 Ualms, 5 g Flgures [58] Field of Search 29/2513, 25.16, 25.15, 29/25.]4; 316/17; 313/1095, 190, 220, 210, 313, 517, 520

e 1 1/7/ v 1 //l 1/1 1/ I 7 WENTEWZWS 3.862.476

SHEET BUY 3 MULTIPLE CHARACTER DISPLAY DEVICE This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 325,294, filed Jan. 22, 1973, now abandoned, which is a division of application Ser. No. 188,485, filed Oct. 12, 1971, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 870,678, filed Oct. 27, 1969 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For many years now, indicator tubes such as the NIXIE tube of Burroughs Corporation have been widely used in all types of instruments for providing a numerical readout of an electronic circuit logic operation. Such instruments usually include three or more of such tubes, and electronic calculators may include as many as 16 or more.

According to the present invention, an economic saving can be effected by building the indicator tubes in groups, that is, by providing more than one group of cathode numerals in a single tube envelope, as has been the practice up to now. The present invention provides a novel indicator tube or device including a plurality of groups of cathode electrodes which can be used to display more than one numeral at a time and having novel electrode interconnections and electrode structures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a sectional elevational view of a display device embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bottom surface of a portion of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a modification of a portion of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of another panel embodying the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Display device embodying the invention includes a glass envelope which is filled with a gas such as argon, neon, or the like which can support cathode glow. The envelope includes a base and viewing window 40 which is secured to the base and encloses the various functional elements of the device which are supported on the base 30.

The functional elements of device 10 include an insulating plate, known as a back plate, 50, of glass, ceramic, or any suitable material which is supported on base 30 and has a top surface 60 and a bottom surface 70. The plate 50 may be held in place by electrodes to be described, or it may be secured to the base by a glass-to-glass seal, by a suitable cement, by metal pins, or the like (not shown). Metallic leads or runs 80 are interposed between plate 50 and base 30 for a purpose to be described,

A plurality of identical groups of cathode character elements 90 are positioned on the top surface 60 of the insulating plate 50. These cathode character elements 90 may be flat strips of metal, wires, or, preferably, films or coatings of a conductive material such as a mixture of powdered molybdenum and powdered manganese or powdered molybdenum and powdered titanium which is screened or sprayed on the top surface of plate 50. Such a film or coating might also be plated with nickel or otherwise treated.

The cathode elements 90 are formed in groups of seven, three such groups being shown side-byside (FIG. 2) so that three numerals or other characters can be displayed side-by-side at the same time by energizing selected cathodes in each group. In FIG. 1', the cathodes 90 are shown as linear segments which can be combined in different groups to represent different characters such as numbers or letters Of course, more than seven or fewer than seven elements might be provided, as desired.

Electrical contact may be made to each cathode element in different ways. In one arrangement, an aperture 110 is provided in the insulating plate 50 directly beneath a portion of each cathode element, with the apertures associated with corresponding elements in each group being at the same general position on the plate to facilitate making common connections thereto as described below. However, the aperture associated with one cathode is at a different location than the aperture associated with the other cathodes in its group so that a straight line can be drawn interconnecting each corresponding aperture without any of the lines crossing each other. Each aperture 110 carries a conductive member 120 which makes electrical contact with its cathode and extends downwardly to the bottom surface of plate 50. The conductive lining 120 may be a conductive coating or a pin or a wire which makes suitable contact with its cathode element.

A separate conductive lead or run (FIG. 3) is connected to each terminal or hole conductor 120 on the bottom surface of the insulating plate, with each lead 80 being connected to the terminal associated with the same cathode element in each group of elements. Thus, for example, the top conductor 80A interconnects contacts 120A to each of the top horizontal cathodes A (FIG. 2), the next lower conductor 80B interconnects contacts B associated with the upper right cathodes 908 (FIG. 2), etc. The leads 80 may be flat metal conductors prepared by a photochemical etching process, or they may be individual strips held in place mechanically or by a cement, between the plate 50 and the base 30 of the envelope and extending through glass-to-metal seals in the wall of the envelope to provide portions outside the envelope, to which external circuit contact can be made. If the conductors 80 are individual strips, they may be soldered to the hole conductors 120, or they may have apertures into which the hole conductors, if they are pin-like, are pressed and held by a mechanical tight fit.

The conductors 80 may extend through one or both ends of the envelope, or some may extend through one end, and the others may extend through the opposite end.

The device 10 also includes a separate anode electrode for each group of cathode elements. The anodes may take many different forms, and in one arrangement, each anode is a generally flat, thin rectan gular fine mesh screen which covers its group of cathode elements and has four side panels which are bent down along all four sides of the cathode arrays. The anodes may be held in place by means of the tabs 172 or the like secured to panels 190 and inserted in holes in plate 50. In addition, one or more such tabs may extend through plate 50, to a conductor 80 on the bottom surface of plate 50 whereby electrical contact may be made separately to each anode.

The anode electrode for each group of elements might comprise, alone or in combination with the screens 170, a conductive film or coating 200 (FIG. 2) of relatively large size formed between the upper four segments and between the lower four cathode segments 90 (FIG. 2) and including radiating arms 210 which might comprise film or wires and which extend into and lie between the adjacent ends of the cathode segments. Electrical contact may be made to this anode structure also through the plate 50, for example, by means of pins 230 which make contact to a suitable conductor arrangement 80 (not shown) on the bottom surface of plate 50.

In order to isolate adjacent groups of cathode and anode electrodes from each other, a rib or wall 240 of insulating material is provided between adjacent groups, and preferably these ribs carry a metal shield coating 250. Electrical contact may be made to this shield coating by means of suitable pins 260 or the like which pass through plate 50 to suitable conductors. In addition, if the insulating sheet is of a ceramic material, the ribs 240 may be formed when the sheet is formed as an integral portion thereof.

In one convenient anode arrangement used in manufacturing the device and referring to FIG. 4, the anode screens 170 are connected together in a unitary assembly 264 by leads 280 projecting from opposite ends of each anode to a common horizontal plate lead 290. This structure can be prepared in a single electrochemical etching operation from a flat piece of metal. During manufacture of the device 10, the anode assembly 264 is set in place, and the anode leads 180 are sealed between the viewing window and the base. Then the leads 280 are cut, for example, where they join the leads 290, to remove the common leads and thus to separate the anode screens from each other.

Another panel 10, shown exploded in FIG. 5, includes all of the elements of the panel 10 with modifications of portions thereof. In panel 10', insulating plate 50 includes insulating elevations or ridges 300 on which the various electrodes of the panel are supported. Nine elevations 310 are shown in each group for supporting cathode electrodes 90 which, for convenience, are shown only on two elevations in the first group of elevations 300. An elevation 320 is provided for supporting the anode electrode 330 which is shown as C-shaped and enclosing the cathode elevations 310 and cathodes 90 on three sides. If space permits, the anode could completely surround the cathodes.

Panel 10' also includes auxiliary elevations 340 for supporting auxiliary cathodes 350 (only one of which is shown) which are shaped to represent decimal points. Of course, they may also be shaped as commas or the like. Two such auxiliary electrodes are provided at diagonally opposed corners so that the panel can be oriented as shown or turned 180, while retaining an auxiliary electrode or decimal point in its proper operating position.

Panel 10 also includes linear elevations 360, positioned between each group of electrodes, for supporting an electrostatic shield 370. The electrostatic shield is shown as a unitary structure including a large-area screen 380 which overlays each group of electrodes, side panels 382 which lie between groups of electrodes, and a support plate 390 between each of the screens and adapted to be seated on the elevation 360.

Panel 10' includes conductive runs 400 on the bottom surface of plate 50 for making connection to the cathodes by way of pins 410. Runs 420 connect to each one of the anodes 330 by pins 430, and run 440 connects to the shield 370 by pins 450.

Panel 10' (and panel 10) is mounted in a generally flat, elongated envelope 460, and it includes a header 470 which carries pins for making contact to the runs 400, 420, and 440. As part of the connecting arrangement to the header, the plate 50 is provided at one end with a series of pins 480, three near one edge and three near the other, which extend through the plate 50 and are welded or soldered on the bottom surface to anode runs 420. The pins 480 are contacted adjacent to the top surface of plate 50 by pins 490 in header 470. Run 440 is similarly connected to pin 500, and this is contacted by pin 510 in header 470. The cathode runs 400 are secured to pins 530 adjacent to the bottom surface of plate 50, and these pins are contacted by pins 540 in header 470. It is to be noted that this arrangement provides easy electrical connection to the various panel electrodes by having the pins in the header arrayed in two rows.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made in the various structures described within the scope of the invention. For example. although one theory would indicate that continuous sputtered metal paths will not form between the anode arms 210 and the adjacent cathodes (FIG. 2), it may be desirable to roughen or groove the surface of plate 50 between these elements to prevent such paths from forming. In addition, the cathode and anode materials and the material of the insulating plate 50 may be any one of many well known materials. The method of preparation of the various parts may also be varied as required.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of elongated conductive runs along the inside surface of a base of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions,

positioning a layer of insulating material on said conductive runs with a plurality of side-by-side groups of apertures therein, one such group at each character position,

positioning a plurality of groups of cathode segments on said insulating layer, with one such group at each character position, such that each cathode segment thereof covers one of the apertures of the aperture group located at the character position and is electrically connected through. the aperture to the underlying conductive run,

arranging a unitary anode structure containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes interconnected in a frame-like assembly by bridging members such that one such anode electrode lies adjacent each cathode segment group,

mounting said anode electrodes in place while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and

thereafter severing the bridging members between said anode electrodes to render the anode electrodes electrically isolated from one another.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the frame-like assembly includes at least one conductive member attached to each anode electrode and extending transverse to the direction of the line of character positions, together with additional members interconnecting said transverse conductive members, and wherein the step of severing the bridging members involves removing the additional members to leave at least one transverse conductive member in place for each anode electrode.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of severing the bridging members involves severing said transverse conductive members where they join the additional members.

4. The method of claim 2 further including the step of placing a transparent front cover plate over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and wherein the step of mounting said anode electrodes in place involves forming a gas-tight seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments and imbeds the transverse conductive members, and wherein the step of severing the bridging members involves severing said members outside of the perimeter formed by the gas-tight seal.

5. The method of claim 1 further including the step of fabricating the unitary anode structure by chemically etching a flat piece of metal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of positioning the cathode segments on the insulating layer involves coating said insulating layer with a plurality of conductive segments.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of positioning the cathode segments on the insulating layer involves screening conductive material onto said layer in a plurality of segmental are as, each of which covers one of the apertures in the insulating layer.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of positioning cathode segments on the insulating layer further involves the step of plating the screened segments with a conductive metal.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of positioning the cathode segments on the insulating layer involves spraying conductive material onto said layer in a plurality of segmental areas, each of which covers one of the apertures in the insulating layer.

10. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of positioning a plurality of elongated conductive runs along the inside surface of a base of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions,

positioning a layer of insulating material on said conductive runs with a plurality of side-by-side groups of apertures therein, one for each character position, with one aperture aligned with each of said cathode segments,

positioning a group of cathode segments at each character position, such that the cathode segments of each said group are disposed in substantially the same pattern and each conductive run is electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned cathode segment of each of said cathode segment groups,

arranging a unitary anode structure containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes interconnected in a frame-like assembly by bridging members such that one such anode electrode lies adjacent each cathode segment group,

mounting said anode electrodes in place, one adjacent each said cathode segment group, while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly. and

thereafter separating said anode electrodes from said frame-like assembly to leave them individually mounted in place and to render them physically and electrically separated from one another.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the frame-like assembly includes at least one conductive member attached to each anode electrode and extending transverse to the direction of the line of character positions, together with additional members interconnecting said transverse conductive members, and wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes from the frame-like assembly involves removing the addi tional members to leave at least one transverse conductive member in place for each anode electrode to serve as a conductive lead to the anode electrode.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the frame-like assembly includes at least one conductive member attached to each anode electrode and extending transverse to the direction of the line of character positions, said transverse conductive members being interconnected in said frame-like assembly, further including the step of placing a transparent front cover plate over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and forming a seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments, and through which the transverse conductive members extend, and wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes from the frame-like assembly involves severing the interconnection between said transverse conductive members outside of said perimeter.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the conductive runs are formed to extend beyond the areas of the character positions and pass in side-by-side relation to one another in the region beyond said character positions, and wherein the seal is formed along a perimeter which surrounds the cathode segments and passes over the side-byside conductive runs in the region beyond the character positions, so that the side-by-side conductive runs extend beyond said perimeter to form external electrical connections to the cathode segments.

14. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of elongated conductive runs along a back plate of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions, positioning a plurality of groups of cathode segments along the surface of the back plate, one such group at each of said character positions, with the cathode segments of each said group being disposed in substantially the same pattern and each conductive run being electrically connected to a correspondingly positioned cathode segment of each of said cathode segment groups,

arranging a unitary anode structure containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes interconnected in a frame-like assembly by bridging members such that one such anode electrode lies adjacent each cathode segment group,

mounting said anode electrodes in place, one adjacent each said cathode segment group, while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and

thereafter separating said anode electrodes from said frame-like assembly to leave them individually mounted in place and to render them physically and electrically separated from one another.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the frame-like assembly includes a plurality of anodes formed of conductive screens and at least one conductive member attached to each said anode electrode, said conductive members extending from the anode electrodes transverse to the direction of the line of character positions and being interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes from the frame-like assembly involves removing the interconnections between said conductive members to leave at least a portion of one of said conductive members in place for each anode electrode to serve as a conductive lead for the anode electrode.

16. The method of claim 15 including the steps of placing a transparent front cover plate over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and forming a seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments, and through which the transverse conductive members extend, and wherein the step of removing the interconnections between said transverse conductive members involves removing such interconnections outside of said perimeter.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the conductive runs are formed to extend beyond the areas of the character positions and pass in side-by-side relation to one another in the region beyond said character positions, and wherein the seal is formed along a perimeter which surrounds the cathode segments and passes over the side-byside conductive runs in the region beyond the character positions, so that the side-by-side conductive runs extend beyond said perimeter to form external electrical connections to the cathode segments. 18. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of elongated conductive runs along a back plate of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions.

said conductive runs being formed to extend beyond the areas of the character positions and pass in side-byside relation to one another in the region beyond said character positions,

positioning a plurality of groups of cathode electrodes, each in the shape of a segment of a character to be displayed, along the surface of the back plate, one such group at each of said character positions, with each of the conductive runs electrically connected to at least one cathode segment of each of said cathode segment groups,

arranging a unitary frame-like assembly containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes, and at least one conductive anode lead attached to each such anode electrode to position one such anode electrode adjacent each cathode segment group,

mounting said anode electrodes in place, one adjacent each said cathode segment group. while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly,

placing a transparent front cover over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and forming a seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments and passes over the side-by-side conductive runs in the region beyond the character positions, with the conductive runs and the anode leads extending beyond the perimeter to provide external conductive connections to the cathode segments and the anode electrodes, respectively, and

thereafter separating said anode electrodes and the anode leads from said frame-like assembly to leave the anode electrodes individually mounted in place and render them physically and electrically separated from one another.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes and the anode leads from the frame-like assembly involves severing the framelike assembly outside said perimeter. 

1. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of elongated conductive runs along the inside surface of a base of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions, positioning a layer of insulating material on said conductive runs with a plurality of side-by-side groups of apertures therein, one such group at each character position, positioning a plurality of groups of cathode segments on said insulating layer, with one such group at each character position, such that each cathode segment thereof covers one of the apertures of the aperture group located at the character position and is electrically connected through the aperture to the underlying conductive run, arranging a unitary anode structure containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes interconnected in a frame-like assembly by bridging members such that one such anode electrode lies adjacent each cathode segment group, mounting said anode electrodes in place while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and thereafter severing the bridging members between said anode electrodes to render the anode electrodes electrically isolated from one another.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the frame-like assembly includes at least one conductive member attached to each anode electrode and extending transverse to the direction of the line of character positions, together with additional members interconnecting said transverse conductive members, and wherein the step of severing the bridging members involves removing the additional members to leave at least one transverse conductive member in place for each anode electrode.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of severing the bridging members involves severing said transverse conductive members where they join the additional members.
 4. The method of claim 2 further including the step of placing a transparent front cover plate over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and wherein the step of mounting said anode electrodes in place involves forming a gas-tight seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments and imbeds the transverse conductive members, and wherein the step of severing the bridging members involves severing said members outside of the perimeter formed by the gas-tight seal.
 5. The method of claim 1 further including the step of fabricating the unitary anode structure by chemically etching a flat piece of metal.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of positioning the cathode segments on the insulating layer involves coating said insulating layer with a plurality of conductive segments.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of positioning the cathode segments on the insulating layer involves screening conductive material onto said layer in a plurality of segmental areas, each of which covers one of the apertures in the insulating layer.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of positioning cathode segments on the insulating layer further involves the step of plating the screened segments with a conductive metal.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of positioning the cathode segments on the insulating layer involves spraying conductive material onto said layer in a plurality of segmental areas, each of which covers one of the apertures in the insulating layer.
 10. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of positioning a plurality of elongated conductive runs along the inside surface of a base of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions, positioning a layer of insulating material on said conductive runs with a plurality of side-by-side groups of apertures therein, one for each character position, with one aperture aligned with each of said cathode segments, positioning a group of cathode segments at each character position, such that the cathode segments of each said group are disposed in substantially the same pattern and each conductive run is electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned cathode segment of each of said cathode segment groups, arranging a unitary anode structure containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes interconnected in a frame-like assembly by bridging members such that one such anode electrode lies adjacent each cathode segment group, mounting said anode electrodes in place, one adjacent each said cathode segment group, while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and thereafter separating said anode electrodes from said frame-like assembly to leave them individually mounted in place and to render them physically and electrically separated from one another.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the frame-like assembly includes at least one conductive member attached to each anode electrode and extending transverse to the direction of the line of character positions, together with additional members interconnecting said transverse conductive members, and wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes from the frame-like assembly involves removing the additional members to leave at least one transverse conductive member in place for each anode electrode to serve as a conductive lead to the anode electrode.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the frame-like assembly includes at least one conductive member attached to each anode electrode and extending transverse to the direction of the line of character positions, said transverse conductive members being interconnected in said frame-like assembly, further including the step of placing a transparent front cover plate over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and forming a seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments, and through which the transverse conductive members extend, and wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes from the frame-like assembly involves severing the interconnection between said transverse conductive members outside of said perimeter.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the conductive runs are formed to extend beyond the areas of the character positions and pass in side-by-side relation to one another in the region beyond said character positions, and wherein the seal is formed along a perimeter which surrounds the cathode segments and passes over the side-by-side conductive runs in the region beyond the character positions, so that the side-by-side conductive runs extend beyond said perimeter to form external electrical connectiOns to the cathode segments.
 14. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of elongated conductive runs along a back plate of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions, positioning a plurality of groups of cathode segments along the surface of the back plate, one such group at each of said character positions, with the cathode segments of each said group being disposed in substantially the same pattern and each conductive run being electrically connected to a correspondingly positioned cathode segment of each of said cathode segment groups, arranging a unitary anode structure containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes interconnected in a frame-like assembly by bridging members such that one such anode electrode lies adjacent each cathode segment group, mounting said anode electrodes in place, one adjacent each said cathode segment group, while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and thereafter separating said anode electrodes from said frame-like assembly to leave them individually mounted in place and to render them physically and electrically separated from one another.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the frame-like assembly includes a plurality of anodes formed of conductive screens and at least one conductive member attached to each said anode electrode, said conductive members extending from the anode electrodes transverse to the direction of the line of character positions and being interconnected in said frame-like assembly, and wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes from the frame-like assembly involves removing the interconnections between said conductive members to leave at least a portion of one of said conductive members in place for each anode electrode to serve as a conductive lead for the anode electrode.
 16. The method of claim 15 including the steps of placing a transparent front cover plate over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and forming a seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments, and through which the transverse conductive members extend, and wherein the step of removing the interconnections between said transverse conductive members involves removing such interconnections outside of said perimeter.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the conductive runs are formed to extend beyond the areas of the character positions and pass in side-by-side relation to one another in the region beyond said character positions, and wherein the seal is formed along a perimeter which surrounds the cathode segments and passes over the side-by-side conductive runs in the region beyond the character positions, so that the side-by-side conductive runs extend beyond said perimeter to form external electrical connections to the cathode segments.
 18. A method of fabricating a gas discharge display panel having a plurality of side-by-side character positions, in each of which any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising the steps of forming a plurality of elongated conductive runs along a back plate of insulating material in the direction intended for the line of character positions, said conductive runs being formed to extend beyond the areas of the character positions and pass in side-by-side relation to one another in the region beyond said character positions, positioning a plurality of groups of cathode electrodes, each in the shape of a segment of a character to be displayed, along the surface of the back plate, one such group at each of said character positions, with each of the conductive runs electrically connected to at least one cathode segment of each of said cathode segment groups, arranging a unitarY frame-like assembly containing a plurality of side-by-side anode electrodes, and at least one conductive anode lead attached to each such anode electrode to position one such anode electrode adjacent each cathode segment group, mounting said anode electrodes in place, one adjacent each said cathode segment group, while they are still interconnected in said frame-like assembly, placing a transparent front cover over said anode electrodes and said cathode segments, and forming a seal between said front and back plates along a perimeter which surrounds said cathode segments and passes over the side-by-side conductive runs in the region beyond the character positions, with the conductive runs and the anode leads extending beyond the perimeter to provide external conductive connections to the cathode segments and the anode electrodes, respectively, and thereafter separating said anode electrodes and the anode leads from said frame-like assembly to leave the anode electrodes individually mounted in place and render them physically and electrically separated from one another.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of separating the anode electrodes and the anode leads from the frame-like assembly involves severing the frame-like assembly outside said perimeter. 